Family Ties
by Bijou Lee
Summary: On their way home to watch the game, Ben, Kevin and Gwen discover a new alien species that may answer questions concerning Kevin's past and future. Will Kevin risk losing everything for the pursuit of something he never had?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10 Alien Force.

Please read and review. Hope you like it!

Enjoy!

* * *

Everything was a blur to him. Walls were crumbling, concrete floor was cracking beneath him, Humongousaur was huffing and puffing—growing tired from beating the crap out of the new alien brigade coming at them—and there was Gwen, always taking the breath out of him, shielding both of them from harm's way. He didn't know how he got to the floor, all bruised and aching all over. A migraine was beginning to spill all over his head, the pain becoming more unbearable by the second. It didn't make the least sense to him—not that most things did. But when it came down to pulverizing aliens to sticky goo, he was champ.

Kevin Levin, immune to many things due to his accidental transformation, was baffled by the turn of events. It all started when Ben was pestering him to drop by Mr. Smoothie.

**Flashback**

"I said no, Tennyson. N-O, no! Or do you want me to spell it out for you?" Kevin gripped his steering wheel harder, his knuckles waiting to break through skin as he tried to keep his temper from running over an unsuspecting pedestrian.

"Oh c'mon Kevin. It won't take longer than a minute, I promise," Ben pleaded, his body leaning over Kevin's seat. Kevin could feel Ben's breath against his cheek.

"I could still smell your burrito from lunch, Tennyson," Kevin replied testily.

"Oh man, really?" Ben abruptly moved back into his seat and checked his breath. "Mint anyone?"

"You ate my last one, remember?" Kevin said.

Gwen rolled her eyes over the "bitch-fight" and gave Ben her stick of gum. "Here Ben."

"Thanks Gwen." Ben took it and chewed madly, determined to get rid of the stench. He was planning on meeting Julie later tonight.

Kevin drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, distracting himself from looking at Gwen. He knew that one look at her would mean the end of him. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Fine, we'll stop by Mr. Smoothie." Kevin made the turn just in time. "But make it quick." He ignored Ben's bellow of triumph and glanced down at the glowing clock display—about a quarter before 6, before the game would start. He floored it, which gave him a few laughs at the sight of Ben stumbling in the backseat when he drifted to a stop by Mr. Smoothie's main entrance.

"Be back in a sec," Ben smoothed his hair before running out the door. Before Ben closed the door, Kevin called out after him, "No sidetrack to the snack bar!" With Ben, who knows what he would bring back besides a smoothie. The list was endless and very varied. From popcorn to root beer floats, from a bucket of chicken to apple pie… Ben had a stomach as deep as Mariana Trench.

Kevin glanced at the clock again—eleven minutes to 6. He would kill Ben if they missed the game. He blew out a sigh to relieve the growing tension forming in his shoulders. Closing his eyes, he tried to let his mind wander when suddenly a soft, warm touch prompted his eyes to snap open.

"That was a first," Gwen said with smiling eyes.

"First for what?"

"You giving in to Ben without me coming in between you two."

Actually, she was wrong. Just the fact that she was there, he would always let his guard down. She may not have said anything but her mere presence made a whole lot of difference.

"Sure." Kevin said, returning her gesture by squeezing her hand. He was moving toward her for a kiss when Ben came stumbling in, arms loaded with smoothies and popcorn.

"Popcorn?! Didn't I say not to go to the snack bar?" Kevin practically flew out of the parking lot and into oncoming traffic, making other drivers swerve and swear as Kevin's Dodge roared past at 70 miles per hour.

"Kevin! This isn't the highway!" Gwen gripped her seat as her heart plummeted to the floor. "Are you that crazy to risk _our_ lives for some stupid game?"

"One, football ain't stupid. Two, blame your cousin. Told him not to get snacks."

"For your information, popcorn isn't just a snack. You'll need them once you start watching the game and screamin—"

"I don't scream," Kevin said with pursed lips. Gwen tried to hide a smirk.

Ben ignored him and popped a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "You'll thank me later."

"Whatever, Tennyson." Kevin slowed down at the sight of a yellow light.

He mumbled an apology to Gwen when he calmed down a bit.

Gwen patted his arm, let her hand settle on his knee as the light turned green.

As soon as they hit the highway en route Ben's place, the car was quiet apart from Ben's slurping and occasional munching. Gwen made a few fleeting glances at the dark forest on her side of the road.

"I swear Tennyson, if you don't stop the slurpage, you'll be face to face with one of the trees real soon."

Ben took one large combo of slurp, gulp and burp before falling silent, a small smile playing on his lips.

"You've got some nerve…" Kevin would have swerved the car and risk Gwen getting mad at him if he hadn't thought about the smoothie spilling all over his car. He swallowed his pride and breathed out, feeling his anger subsiding even more when Gwen made an attempt of squeezing his arm. He tried not to think about it but he just hated his body. He could never do the same things with Gwen as before; he had to be careful not to crush her against him, and the tingly sensation of her touch was not as stimulating against his cool, hard figure. Sure, a turn-on was easy when it came to Gwen, but just the feeling of skin against skin… he missed that. A lot. All she could manage was a pat or a rub… but Kevin wanted more. And this body gave nothing that he craved for.

"Whoa! What's going on there?" Ben's exclamation pulled Kevin out of his reverie.

Blinding lights whirled in vortexes across the dark sky. Suspended above the forest area on the right side of the road hung three spaceships surveying the forest area below. Kevin's car slowed to a stop as they continued watching the never-before-seen spacecrafts beginning their slow descent on earth.

Kevin flipped through his memory, trying hard to remember if any one of his past dealers or clients had the same UFO design as the ones they were looking at now. But Kevin soon gave up, as he could pull up nothing. The spaceships were definitely new to him, to them. All three of them were silent, waiting for the new arrival to make their next move.

"Should we get a closer look?" Ben asked but already making a move toward the wooded enclosure.

"Let's," Kevin clutched Gwen's hand and followed close behind Ben.

They walked and stumbled through the darkness, through thick hedges and claw-like branches. Their clothes and skin were getting scratched but they didn't care. They were more determined to find out what new species awaited them.

"Oww!" Gwen hissed as a stray branch slapped her in the face. She could feel heat from the contact swelling across her right cheek.

"You okay?" Kevin stopped and turned to her. He held her face in his hands, careful not to touch the welt.

"Yeah," Gwen smiled up at him but the darkness was too thick for both of them to see each other's facial expressions. Still, Gwen's tighter hold on Kevin made his heart thud harder against his rock-hard ribcage.

"C'mon guys. Either you want alone time or you want to check out if these aliens are good or bad guys." Ben made a start but added, "Just… just stop flirting when I'm around because honestly it's gross. But that's besides the point right now… let's hurry, alright?"

"Does that mean we can't have the option of having some alone time?" Kevin asked, feigning incomprehension.

Gwen elbowed him lightly. In response to that Kevin deftly wrapped his arm around her waist even tighter. All three treaded closer, shielded their eyes as the lights became more blinding to the naked eye.

They crouched behind hedges, watched as the spacecrafts finally made their landing. Doors swooshed open and an army of half-human, half-animal beings marched down the platform. They looked like the incarnation of characters from C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. Gwen gasped, her body electrified by excitement over her childhood storybooks.

Like a child, she pointed at an alien that resembled a faun. "It's Mr. Tumnus!"

"Mr. Tumnus is not real. But an alien that resembles him, yeah." Ben whispered back.

"Who's Mr. Tumnus?" Kevin asked, confused.

"A faun in Narnia. He helped Lucy escape from the white witch's clutches and because of that was punished by the white witch herself. But then before the last battle Lucy frees the rest of the animals, including Mr. Tumnus. They've been best friends ever since." Gwen paused, tilting her head to the side. "On second thought, their friendship started the moment they saw each other. I mean, they weren't just mere acquaintances; they cared deeply for each other—he saved her and she came back for her and..." She mused the thought in her head, stopped when she caught sight of Ben shaking his head as if insinuating how nerdy she can really be. Gwen scowled at him, rolled her eyes to ignore him.

Kevin blinked furiously, getting more and more confused by the second. "What the hell is Narnia? And who's Lucy?"

"It's a long story. You'll fall asleep before we reach the middle of the story," Ben stifled a laugh. Kevin glared at him.

"You got food scum on your shirt." Kevin pointed at the front of Ben's shirt.

As soon as Ben looked down, Kevin flicked Ben's nose as hard as he could. Ben fell backward, landed on his bum. Ben's hand flew to his nose, yelled at Kevin, "What did you do that for?! That's real _mature_, Kevin."

Suddenly, a growl got their full attention. As soon as they looked ahead, a gaping mouth full of sharp teeth faced them—a sphinx was standing on its hind legs, ready to crush them with its huge paws. On impulse Gwen blocked it with her manna. But it wasn't enough. At the second hit her shield was broken into pink shards. Kevin pushed Gwen out of the way.

Without another moment to lose Ben turned the dial of the Omnitrix, choosing Humongousaur. At transformation, Humongousaur didn't delay in charging toward the alien army—wiping out and tossing several hybrids into the air. When Ben thought they were defeated, he noticed something extraordinary about them: they didn't stay as hybrids for long. They morphed and changed into different species, either alien-bound or earth-bound—they were just so bizarre. Many of them, especially the ones whom Ben hit, recovered quickly. Where Ben had left a hole or gash on them was now replaced by new, "blemished" skin, like that of a scar.

Gwen noticed the same thing too but continued aiming and shooting her manna at them.

"This isn't working on them!" Gwen yelled, trying her best to fend off as many as she could, though they continued to break her every effort.

Kevin was in hand to hand combat with what looked like a werewolf. He morphed his hand into a mace and missed the wolf's head by a hair's breadth. "An idea would be great right now." Kevin, already feeling worn out, was getting frustrated. "Gotta say that these guys are good."

The wolf smirked at him with devilish eyes, swatted Kevin's face and kicked him in the chest, thus sending Kevin flying into a Minotaur.

"You have got to be kidding me," Kevin groaned as the Minotaur brought down its axe, which seemed to have morphed from its arm. Kevin blocked it with his mace, kicked the creature in the gut but to no effect.

"That the best you got, kid?" The beast said in a deep voice. Kevin was more shocked to hear it talking than anything else.

"You haven't seen anything yet." Kevin head-butted it, swung his legs underneath the beast before breaking its jaw with another kick. He was about to administer another blow when the faun—Mr. Tumnus, Kevin presumed—hit him in the head with its hooves. But those hooves weren't just any hooves. As soon as they made contact with Kevin, spikes sprung from the surface, sending Kevin flying into the trees with a head-splitting headache.

"Kevin!" Gwen, angry, blasted the damn things with all she had and ran toward Kevin, who was groaning in pain. "Oh Kevin," she caressed his face, all the while concentrating on keeping her shield together.

"Gwen… don't worry about me…"

"Don't even start." Gwen tried massaging his temples but knew it was pointless against his solid build. "Even a roof crashing down on you is nothing compared to this."

She glanced at Ben quickly, her eyes filled with worry. "Ben's getting tired. Retreat's our only option for now." She was about to call out to Ben when Kevin grabbed her arm.

Ignoring the throbbing ache in his head, Kevin pushed himself up. "I can still fight…"

Gwen hated seeing Kevin hurt, but she sometimes hated his stubbornness even more. "Kevin Ethan Levin, you better listen to me and listen to me good. We're leaving. If we stay any longer we'll be dead meat and that's one thing I don't want happening. So either you leave with us or I'll have to drag you with us. And you wouldn't like it if I drag you out of here now would you?"

Kevin gulped.

She could hear Ben transforming into Jet-ray.

"Grab hold of me," Ben reached out both claws. Gwen and Kevin—very reluctantly—were reaching out to him when a net caught Jet-ray, trapped.

"What the—" Kevin, with his remaining strength, morphed his hand into a baseball bat. "Come any closer and I'll make sure that the next thing you see is the solar system in fast motion."

Standing in front of them was a well-built man in his mid-forties. His hair was streaked with white in the center and was cropped short. He had a scar across his face and a smug look that was very familiar to Gwen. The combination made him look scary and yet… His gray eyes were piercing yet… sad. In his hand was a gun—probably the one he used to trap Ben—and his belt had the Plumber's badge on it.

"You're a plumber…?" Gwen asked, her eyes raised in question.

"Yes." His gaze never left Kevin, though his answers were directed at Gwen. "My soldiers and I were just passing through. We needed a place to rest before we set off to the other end of the galaxy where crime is more rampant."

"So… you've been patrolling the universe?" Kevin asked, suspicion growing.

"Yes."

"Then why attack us?"

The man closed his eyes apologetically. "I'm truly sorry about that. Philux," The man referred to the Sphinx. "Has a short fuse so he couldn't really control himself when he assumed that you guys were spying on us. Not to mention that your friend here suddenly changed and attacked us. So we had no other choice but to fight back."

"Well if Philux there didn't try to crush us, then yeah, we really didn't have to go through all this, now did we?" Kevin half-yelled. Philux growled from behind the man, who still remained calm and composed.

"Yes. As I said before, Philux has an exceedingly short fuse when it comes to spies."

By now Ben freed himself from the net and approached the group in his human form.

"I have to apologize as well for coming at you guys. Fighting baddies on a regular basis does make you more paranoid."

"Indeed."

Kevin's eyebrows twitched in annoyance. If there was one thing that he hated, it was one-word replies.

"Anyways, I don't think we've formally introduced ourselves. I'm Ben Tennyson and I'm a plumber myself." He paused before adding, "Actually, we all are."

"And I'm Gwen Tennyson."

When Kevin didn't say a word, Gwen gave him the look.

Kevin sighed.

"Kevin."

"I know."

Kevin glared at him. "Yeah? How so?"

"My name is Devin. Devin Levin."

* * *

Devin… Levin?

"Say that again?" Kevin asked, extremely bemused.

"Kevin," the man said, closing the distance between him and Kevin. "I'm your father."

"Whoa… talk about déjà vu." Kevin didn't know what to say. In his mind Star Wars kept replaying itself.

Gwen broke the unnerving silence.

"That makes sense now… Kevin and Devin. Turns out we Tennysons are not the only ones with rhyming names." Gwen smiled up at Devin, becoming more convinced that he was no doubt Kevin's bio dad. His eyes may be a different color from Kevin's but the way they look at people—the deep gaze—was the same. Their physique was also no different—father and son had similar chiseled figures and height—and their jaw lines were relatively prominent.

For the first time in the night, Devin smiled. "You're Max's granddaughter, right?"

Gwen nodded.

"The resemblance is uncannily like Verdona's." Devin's head tilted to the side, inspecting Gwen closely.

"Enough of that." Kevin wrapped an arm around Gwen, pulling her closer to him. "Why are you here? Why, after all these years, did you suddenly show up on earth? Why… did you ever at least try to let… mom know that you're still alive?"

"I had to leave…" his gloved hands gripped the gun tighter. "To protect you and your mother."

"Enlighten me," Kevin said, his eyes narrowed.

"I—" Devin was cut short by Philux.

"Devin, our men need their rest. Perhaps, we should continue this another time."

Devin was quiet for a moment, lost in thought, before nodding in agreement to Philux. "Yes, you're right." He turned to Kevin. "Son, why don't we meet tomorrow? I could meet with you—"

"Forget it. Not interested. I know you aren't. Your men are more important than your son anyways. Have been and always will be." Kevin turned to leave, pulling Gwen close to his side. Ben followed suit, tentatively looking behind to catch Devin's sad expression.

* * *

_**To be continued…**_


	2. Blast from the Past

Hey my lovely readers! Thank you so much for your support, I greatly appreciate it. I have to apologize though for the late updates. Same old, LAME excuses: finals, Christmas break, New Year's… But now that that's over, it's time to move on with the rest of the story. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Thanks!

* * *

"Kevin?" Gwen raised her head from his chest, hoping to still find him wide awake.

After dropping Ben off, who was already falling asleep and drooling in the backseat, Kevin floored it to Gwen's house. They made a quick beeline to her room, threw furtive glances in the hallway to make sure that Gwen's parents were nowhere to be found. Gwen then went to her closet for her sleeping bag, pillow, and comforter, and accompanied Kevin to the roof, where they were now snuggling and slowly drifting off to sleep.

His obsidian eyes were still open but were clearly looking at another place and time, far away from where Gwen was now. She fluffed her pillow against his chest to get his attention but it did no good. He was completely ignoring her.

She sighed, gave up, and closed her eyes. She couldn't think of anything else to say, to comfort him. She yawned once more. She never felt this tired before. Fighting aliens may take a toll out of her time but never her energy. She always left that for researching Kevin's cure. But after tonight, she felt completely drained. Trying to remember today's schedule, she was soon slipping into slumber's dark embrace when Kevin adjusted her comforter and put his arm around her shivering body.

Gwen sleepily looked up.

"Go to sleep. You're tired." Kevin said solemnly, gently pushing her head back down.

"Kevin, can I ask you something?" Gwen mumbled, half-asleep.

"Sure."

"Aren't you happy to see your father?"

Kevin was silent for a moment. He thought about it the entire time after finding out that his father was back—temporarily—wielding a gun and an army of badass aliens he never knew of before. He may have always known, _believed_, that his father was alive, still out there, a Plumber fighting crime. But this was just so sudden, so new to him. He felt mixed emotions fighting for dominance within him. A part of him yearned to know his father. But the other part… not so much. He could feel the tightening in his chest—hurt, pain, rejection. Emotions that consumed him during his childhood.

His mind wandered briefly to his mother but he didn't want to think about it now. Not tonight.

He was too tired to think straight, that's why. Before long he was fast asleep, snoring very loudly.

In their bedroom, Lily Tennyson, Gwen's mother, turned away from her book and to her husband Frank. "What was that?"

Frank shrugged his shoulders. "The neighbor's dog?"

"But none of our neighbors has dogs," Lily said, putting her book down.

"An owl then," Frank suggested, flipping through his magazine.

"A really tired owl," Lily shook her head to ignore another possibility and resumed her reading.

* * *

"You got sand in your eyes," Kevin pointed out, raking his hand through her hair.

Oh, thanks," Gwen rubbed off sleep from her eyes, started stretching her body awake.

"Slept well?"

Gwen nodded, patted her face.

"You?" she asked.

He nodded. "It was blank."

"What was?"

"I had a dreamless sleep." Kevin sat up as Gwen began folding her comforter and sleeping bag.

"And that's bad…?"

"No, it's good." Kevin paused, contemplated. "I would think that the nightmares would come back and haunt me, especially you know, after meeting my… _dad_." Kevin felt rather uneasy and strange for saying the word out loud, now that his father was alive and real.

"Oh Kevin," Gwen dropped her blanket and hugged Kevin, pecked him on the cheek. "It's ok, I won't leave you," she whispered in his ear.

"Good, cuz I don't want you to." Kevin said, looking into her emerald eyes. He was leaning in for a kiss when Gwen cupped her mouth.

"After I brush my teeth."

"Huh?" Kevin was puzzled.

"Bad morning breath. Gotta freshen up." Gwen quickly grabbed her things and tiptoed to the window and into her room.

When she was gone, Kevin checked his breath and was appalled by his own exhalation. "Ugh. Nice, Kevin. Way to start the morning."

He looked over the roof, was about to make a grab for the branch when Gwen, toothbrush in her mouth, poked her head through the window and asked, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Uh… home? Like you said, gotta freshen up."

"You're not going anywhere." Gwen felt worried about Kevin being alone. "You can use the bathroom here."

"Your parents…?"

"Are downstairs fixing breakfast. C'mon," Gwen looked annoyed when he didn't budge. "Kevin…"

"On my way," Kevin nearly ran to the window.

* * *

"Morning Mom, Dad," Gwen called out cheerily.

Frank and Lily returned the greeting, not bothering to look up. Lily was busy flipping pancakes and Frank was reading the obituaries.

"Um… we have a guest," Gwen said through gritted teeth.

Both her parents looked up, saw Kevin—in his disguise—and immediately stopped what they were doing.

"Um… hi. Good morning, Mr. Tennyson, Mrs. Tennyson. Smells really good." Kevin could feel his palms growing damp.

Lily, her mouth hanging slightly open, still didn't register the compliment.

"The pancakes I mean," Kevin filled in for them when neither responded.

"Oh! The pancakes, of course. Thank you." Lily flipped the browned pancake over. "Kevin, right?"

"Yes ma'am."

Gwen held his hand, pulled him toward the table. He pulled back a chair for Gwen before sitting down himself.

"Sorry for interrupting the family breakfast," Kevin started.

"Not a problem, Kevin." Frank said with an awkward smile, put his paper down. "We just didn't expect company, that's all."

"And we don't mind it," Lily set the plate of pancakes on the center of the table. She had to admit that the minute she saw Kevin, she knew that he was right for Gwen. Her daughter could have chosen a lot of guys in her school, but Kevin was right for her. Though he shouldered personal issues and manly ego, Lily had an inkling that no matter what, Kevin would be by Gwen's side in a heartbeat. And the fact that his smile and presence could make her daughter happy was all that mattered.

"So what brings you to the neighborhood?" Frank asked, pouring black coffee into his cup. Lily did the same after Frank was done with his.

"Gwen left her books in my car, told me she needed them for homework so… yeah," as soon as he trailed off, Kevin's cheeks went red. He had no problem with bending the truth just a little but, when Gwen was concerned, even the whitest lies were difficult to sound as smooth and believable as he hoped.

But Frank and Lily didn't doubt him. They simply nodded and beamed at him.

Kevin awkwardly returned a smile and bit into his syrup-soaked pancake.

"So, uh… I heard you guys are spending your nineteenth anniversary in a cruise. Cool," Kevin said, trying hard to make conversation. Gwen smiled up at him, squeezed his hand.

"Yes, we're planning on spending a few days in the Caribbean, soaking in the sun and sipping pina coladas. Can't wait," Frank seemed to be already fantasizing the warm sun, sandy beaches, salty sea, and palm trees in his head.

Lily merely shrugged it off, shook her head. "Frank's planned it for a long time." She looked at his excited face. "And it's good to get out once in awhile. It can get boring every now and then." Lily paused for effect, continued, "But I shouldn't worry at all about you two…?"

"Of course not, Mrs. Tennyson. I will take real good care of Gwen. I'm not gonna let any alien lay a slimy finger on her," Kevin vowed, his face serious.

Gwen and Lily exchanged a furtive glance, stifled their laughs. "That's very… comforting. But it's not really what I'm implying…"

"Mom…" Gwen warned, rolling her eyes as she tried to deter her mom from giving them both some lecturing about raging teenage hormones.

"Just…" Lily shifted in her seat, tried not to make it seem awkward. Kevin just looked at her with a puzzled look. "Be careful." She eyed Gwen warily. Her daughter briefly nodded, ignored her hard, motherly gaze.

"It's nothing," Gwen whispered in Kevin's ear when he continued to look at her expectantly. He finished three stacks of pancake and was already grabbing another when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Gwen said, pushing back her chair. She made her way out the kitchen and into the living room within seconds and opened the door. The man's presence at her doorstep caught her by complete surprise, making her jump.

"Devin! I mean, Mr. Levin," she corrected herself. "What… brings you here?"

"I… I want to speak to Kevin. We didn't really come to good terms last night," Devin looked at her with pleading eyes. "I activated my Plumber's badge and tried contacting Kevin but he turned his off. So I went to your cousin's…"

Gwen craned her neck in search of Ben, who was hiding behind Devin. Gwen narrowed her eyes at him. "Morning, Gwen. Had breakfast already?"

"Think I'm pretty much done now. Ben, can I talk to you… in private." She grabbed his sweater, pulled him in, and shut the door after whispering an apology to Devin.

"What were you thinking, bringing Devin here?" Gwen hissed.

"Kevin wasn't home. I tried calling his phone but all I got was voicemail. So I figured that you guys were together… And Devin was desperate. He really wanted to talk to Kevin."

"And why were you hiding behind him?"

"I knew you weren't gonna like this, with him showing up at your doorstep."

"Of course not. Kevin's hurt right now because of him. He needs time to think things through and with him showing up here—"

"Who's here?" Kevin's voice boomed from the doorway, his eyes squinting at Ben suspiciously.

"Why, Yours Truly of course," Ben took a step back from Gwen, adjusted his sweater. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I could knock a skyscraper off with one blow. You're hiding something, aren't you?"

"What? Hiding something? No… more like someone."

"Ben!" Gwen exclaimed, feeling very annoyed with her cousin.

"He's here, isn't he?" Kevin clenched his fists, kept his anger in check. He didn't want Gwen's parents to find an outline of Ben on their living room's wall.

"I had to… he wouldn't stop asking." Ben paused. "He showed up at my place since you two turned your badges off. I couldn't say no."

Kevin stomped to the door and opened it. "I'm not in the mood for talking right now."

"I understand that, but I just want to talk, Kevin. If you'll let me explain." For the first time since they saw him, his expression was soft and distressed. His eyes were dark-rimmed and his face looked like he aged overnight.

Kevin averted his gaze. "I know a place where we can talk." He walked past Devin and strode in the direction of his car. He got in and gunned the engine, all the while fighting back the urge to let his guard down. The sight of his father made him feel weird. It was strange seeing him still kicking alien butt, but the thought of talking and listening to his father chilled him; the memories of Kevin's childhood constantly reminded him of lonely, sleepless nights.

As soon as Devin hopped in, Kevin sent his car flying, paying no heed to the fact that they were in a neighborhood area.

"He's going to get someone killed," Ben said, as they watched the car disappear into a curb.

"I'm not blaming him," Gwen glared at him.

"What? I told you already I didn't have a choice."

"Yes, you did. You could have turned him away."

"He wouldn't budge," Ben was growing tired of explaining himself. It was barely eight in the morning when he woke up to a constant tap against his window. Trying hard to ignore it, he simply tossed and turned, burrowed his head under a pillow but the noise was relentless. Annoyed, he shuffled toward the window, and found Devin Levin waiting by his window.

"That was incredibly rude." Gwen said, crossing her arms over her chest after Ben told her this morning's wake up ploy.

"But you have to understand where he's coming from," Ben said, dissuading Gwen's annoyance at Kevin's father from growing permanent.

"But that doesn't give him the right to barge into your room and ask you to bring him to my house to talk to Kevin. He should wait for Kevin to come to him."

"Well, he can't wait for Kevin. He's only staying for a couple of days, and that's more than enough time for his men to stock up for their next mission. He's running out of time and he wants to make amends with his son really badly."

Gwen sighed, conceding defeat. "I guess you have a point. I just don't want to see Kevin get hurt, that's all."

"I know, I feel the same way too," Ben said, planting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Ben! What brings you here?" Lily asked, clearly bemused, as she walked through the archway. "It's 9:30 in the morning and it's a Saturday. Is something wrong?" Lily knew Ben all too well. It was early and it was a Saturday, and Ben spent most of his Saturday mornings in bed. This day just got more unusual by the minute.

"Nothing that you have to worry about, Aunt Lily."

"Well all right." Lily raised her brow at Kevin's absence.

"He had an errand to run. It's pretty urgent." Gwen filled in for her mom. "He says he's sorry but he'll come back once he's done with it."

"That's fine, I was just slightly concerned when you took so long at the door and then he followed you and then just disappeared. Oh, which reminds me, who was at the door?"

Ben and Gwen exchanged a glance. Gwen then answered, "Kevin's dad."

"Didn't he leave a long time ago?"

"Yeah, it's a long story, Aunt Lily," Ben said.

Before Lily could say anything else, her phone rang. She picked it up and ended it in a minute before sauntering into her room.

"I won't ask but I hope everything's fine. I have to get ready for work so try not to get into trouble, all right?"

"Yes mom."

"Got it, Aunt Lily."

* * *

"You seem to be doing well these days," Devin mused out loud, an attempt to strike conversation with his son. When Kevin didn't say anything, he continued, "While I was gone doing Plummer business I was keeping tabs on you. I heard news about you and Ben Tennyson having a number of standoffs, and you getting trapped in Null Void, eventually." Devin stopped, but Kevin didn't object though his face hardened at the memory. "It's not your fault that you had to go through such difficult times. It's my fault, and I know that leaving you and your mother made things worse and I don't deserve to be forgiven for that. To be honest, I was going to come back to help you but I got caught up. I—"

"Enough," Kevin interrupted him, closed his eyes to stop the tears from coming. "Did you only come back because I'm an official Plumber now? Because I'm on the good side, because I'm no longer an out-of-control monster?"

"Kevin, that's not it."

"I was a monster, a rogue, _your _son. You were ashamed of me, that's why you never bothered to come back. You could have, but this excuse about getting caught up with work is a load of bullshit." Kevin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose to hold back the tears.

"Kevin," Devin laid a hand on Kevin's shoulder. Kevin abruptly shrugged it off as if he'd been electrocuted.

"Don't touch me. I have to go," Kevin got in the car. "Go catch a ride with your alien buddies. I can't deal with you right now."

And with that Kevin was gone, leaving a dust of smoke in his wake. Devin only stared at the retreating vehicle. He breathed out a sigh, closed his eyes and let the breeze ruffle his hair and clothes. He breathed in the air blowing around him, let his mind wander to the good old days, during the time when he met Alice, Kevin's mother, and when they were just about to start a family…

"He never gave you the chance to explain," a voice from behind the trees said in a sympathetic whisper. Philux, taking a human form this time, stopped right behind Devin and waited.

"I didn't expect him to forgive me right away."

"We have to leave soon."

"I know. But I can't just leave things like this. I can't leave, Philux, not without telling him everything."

"You have less than three hours."

"That's not enough time. I might have to catch up with you later," Devin said, his mind decided.

"With all due respect Sir," Philux started to disagree.

"I'm not hearing it. I made a mistake once for not being there when Kevin needed me most. I'm not going to do it again." Devin turned around to face his friend. "Philux, please. I need to do this."

Philux let his head drop, admitting defeat as always. "Well, you did make me second-in-command for a reason. I got it covered, don't worry."

"Thanks, I owe you one."

"You always do," Philux grinned slyly.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Devin punched his friend's shoulder.

"Always." Philux briefly enveloped Devin in a bear hug. "Just send me a message once you're done here. We'll be waiting for it."

"Thanks."

As Philux was about to lumber into the woods, he stopped and said, "Word of advice, Sir. Perhaps, letting your son see your past may help him understand." When Devin didn't respond, Philux countered, "Just a suggestion, dude."

"Don't you mean Captain?" Devin teased.

"Captain," Philux theatrically saluted and disappeared into the forested darkness.

Devin then turned on his heel, switched on his Plumber's badge and tracked down Kevin. To his relief, Kevin's badge was on, giving him the coordinates to his son's whereabouts.

"Mr. Smoothie. Perfect. I was just craving a soda."

* * *

"Smoothie's on me today," Ben exclaimed, hoping that it would at least bring Kevin out of his reverie. But it did no good. Kevin was still silent and grave, his face hard, his lips drawn in a thin line. Gwen sighed, patted Kevin's hand.

"I don't feel like a smoothie today," Kevin sighed, squeezed Gwen's hand.

"At least have a soda," Gwen suggested.

"Yeah, whatever."

With Ben out of earshot, Gwen leaned her head on Kevin's shoulder. "So, I was thinking… why don't we have a movie marathon tonight?"

Kevin looked at her. Finally, a topic that didn't revolve around his father. Not to mention that it meant spending the whole night with his girlfriend. "What do you have in mind?"

"Oh, I don't know. We can watch _Fast and Furious, Aliens, Terminator, Saw, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13__th__…_" These were the kind of films that Kevin would actually buy a ticket for in theatres instead of waiting for the DVDs to be released. As for Gwen, they were maddeningly revolting. Crazed serial killers wielding saws and foot-long claws unnerved her; but as long as it kept Kevin's mind off his father, she would endure it… just for one bloody night. Even if it killed her in the end.

Kevin eyed her carefully. "You're actually gonna watch Friday the 13th and the Saw movies with me? You do know what they are about, right?"

Gwen playfully punched his shoulder. "Of course I know how bloody and sadistic Jason can be. And mysterious," Gwen stroked Kevin's cheek. "But I don't mind. It'd be a… an interesting change for me." And there was the underlying motive of snuggling next to Kevin without him noticing how tight and painful her hold around his arm could be.

"Gwen," Kevin looked at her. "If you're doing this just because…"

"Not a word of it." Gwen pressed her lips against his to shush him. And the strategy never failed. "You've had it rough lately. Tonight's your night. Have your pick."

Kevin instantly closed the gap between their bodies, his arms wrapping fiercely around Gwen, his lips and tongue hungry for more. Gwen didn't hold back and gave in completely, letting Kevin explore with his hands and lips…

"Well, this is awkward," Ben's voice briefly extinguished the heat between the couple.

"Sorry," Gwen's face was bright red. She smoothly freed herself from Kevin's hold, who was frowning with such intensity that it nearly made Ben do a double take.

"Uh… maybe I should…"

"Sit down, Ben. It's fine." Kevin couldn't look at Ben, as his cheeks had a pinkish tint. He couldn't care less that people were staring and whispering God-knows-what behind their backs while he and Gwen were making out. But with Ben, as much as he hated to admit it, he was conscious around him. He didn't know why, but it could be for the fact that Ben and Gwen were related and he wanted approval from Ben just as much as from her own parents.

Silence filled their table as they slurped their drinks quietly, not daring to break the quiet. It was neither awkward nor comfortable. But all three were content for the moment, until Ben destroyed it with his reverberating belch.

"Excuse you," Gwen hissed at him, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry," Ben said, resuming his drinking as if he did nothing wrong.

"Mind if I join in?" a familiar voice chimed in, making their hearts trip in astonishment.

"What are you doing here?" was Kevin's immediate response to his father's persistence.

"I want to show you something, son." While taking a large gulp, Devin laid a hand on Kevin's.

Kevin was just about to move his hand away when a blinding jolt numbed his body but transported his mind to what seemed like another dimension. Darkness consumed all around him. Ben and Gwen, even Devin, were nowhere to be found. He cried out for help, for Gwen, but no one responded. The vacuum was void of sound and color. He turned around, tried to move his feet, but the dark wouldn't let him.

Suddenly, a menacing growl prompted Kevin to turn around. It was a black bear, its height a staggering seven feet, its paw angrily clawing at the air, all its teeth bared and hungry.

Kevin took a step back, his arm morphing into a mace. "I ain't here messing around your porridge or chair or bed. So don't—"

A scream right behind Kevin sent his heart clambering up his throat. "What the hell…?"

And the figure looking up at the big, dark creature with her green, scared eyes made Kevin drop his guard and his jaw.

"Mom?" Kevin choked out the words.

But she seemed to be deaf and blind to his presence. She continued to shuffle backwards, cowering and whimpering closer to a dead-end, to a cliff overhanging a sheer drop. The bear, undeterred, inched closer and closer until Kevin's mom could no longer move.

"Somebody… please…" Kevin's mom said as if praying for divine aid. Shifting her frantic gaze from left to right in search of someone, Kevin followed it, and for the first time Kevin noticed their lush surroundings: the setting suddenly changed from nothingness into a forested area, with trees towering around him, the sound of thundering waterfall making its continuous decent toward rocks below, the distant chirping and twittering of birds…

Kevin couldn't move, couldn't speak. Where the hell was he? And what was his mother, looking much younger than now, doing here?

"Mom—!" Kevin was crying out and at the same time sprinting toward his mother when out of nowhere a figure cut him off and jumped on the bear's back, who suddenly head-locked the wild animal. Seriously ticked off, the bear swayed its arms, its claws few inches from where Kevin's mom stood, shocked at her savior's brave yet stupid rescue.

Suddenly, what seemed like flashes of light—electricity, rather—enveloped the creature, stunning it. It yelped and slowly crashed onto the rocky floor. But as the impact shook the cliff, Kevin's mom lost her footing and fell off.

"NO!" Kevin yelled, horror immobilizing him. _Stupid feet, move!_

The man that electrocuted the bear let go of the unconscious animal and dove after his mom. At that moment Kevin managed to get his legs working again and precariously made his way toward the cliff. As he looked down, there was no sign of his mother and her hero. Puzzled, he looked left and right but found no sign of life anywhere. In addition, the air around him was foggy but, as he looked up he noticed something soaring toward him. He instantly moved back and was confronted by a man that suddenly sprouted wings, holding his mom tightly in his arms.

That man was his proclaimed father, Devin. A younger version, that is.

"No shit. Could this be… my parents' past?"

* * *

You like? No like? Please review! Love to hear from you.

Oh, and to be continued…


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